Here’s Why Bucky Might Have Made So Many Jokes In Marvel’s What If…?

Sebastian Stan’s Bucky has had one of the darker character arcs in the established MCU, as he is conditioned by Hydra to become the Winter Soldier and deals with that trauma up through The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, in What If…?, he is spared that fate when Captain Carter saves him from falling from a moving train. He even remarks on how her strength almost ripped his arm off.

Throughout the episode, Bucky is generally shown to be relaxed and wisecracking, something that we rarely saw before his transformation into a brainwashed Hydra agent. One explanation, given by Screen Rant, is actually pretty straightforward: The What If…? formula allows Sergeant Barnes to be a more lighthearted, funnier person, albeit without diverting too far from the original Bucky. Indeed, the non-powered Steve Rogers we get is still the same brave and determined man, just with an increased vulnerability.

Of course, the modern-day Bucky isn’t afraid of some deadpan humor, and it seems that developing this side of Stan’s character was Chadwick Boseman.